AN ANALYSIS OF TV LANGUAGE ACROSS TV

Studies in the Linguistic Sciences

Volume 31, Number 2 (Fall 2001)

AN ANALYSIS OF TV ADVERTISING LANGUAGE ACROSSCULTURES

Hang Zhang

University ofIllinois at Urhana-Champaign

[email protected]

The paper investigates Chinese TV advertising language and pre-

sents a comparative analysis of advertising strategies between the U.S.

and China to demonstrate that the language of advertising is closely

culturally oriented and ideologically invested. Contrary to claims made

about western advertising language (Rings 1998), the data of four hun-

dred eighty-seven TV commercials show that Chinese advertising lan-

guage is more of a specialized subset of language, distinct from every-

day language. It makes excessive use of rhyming couplets, stock ex-

pressions, and references to Chinese culture, which confirms Han's

1991 finding about Chinese newspaper advertising language. Ten lin-

guistic strategies are identified, which include creative use of idioms

and proverbs, puns, metaphors, and direct and indirect requests.

Compared with American advertising, Chinese advertisements

rarely attack competitors directly by comparing price, effectiveness, or

side effects, preferring more subtle and indirect comparisons while

avoiding extreme self-indulgent promotion language. American influ-

ence Chinese advertising is observed although the mixing of English is

still rare. In addition, an examination of the strategies adopted by

American companies in China reveals an ongoing nativization process

in which American companies employ more Chinese cultural and lin-

guistic elements in their advertising. These features of advertising lan-

guage reflect a changing society, in which the individualistic consumer

ideologies compete with the more collective traditional ideologies in

public discourse.

1. Introduction

In recent years, Chinese advertising has been studied along the line of pragmatics,

psycholinguistics, and sociolinguistics, and in comparison to western advertising.

Han's 1991 research has noticed persuasion can be achieved through both reason-

ing and emotion in the language of Chinese newspaper advertisements. He also

found stock expressions, couplets, and heavy references to Chinese culture in

newspaper ads. His research constitutes a basis for a fuller understanding of the

Chinese language in advertising of other media. Short & Hu 1997 compared eight-

een British and Chinese TV advertisements and concluded that Chinese advertis-

ing is shifting toward the soft-sell approach popular in English-language advertis-

ing, which is characterized by a faster changing and more sophisticated presenta-

188 Studies in the Linguistic Sciences 31:2 (Fall 2001)

tion, less linguistic information, and a more rapidly changing nonlinguistic format.

Chan 1995 found that the Hong Kong advertisement contains more information

about product availability, price, and other related information. Furthermore,

cross-linguistic study showed that the phenomenon of mixing with English is near-

universal. The role of English in attention-getting slogans, signature lines, and in

generating positive psycholinguistic effects in discourse processing is phenomenal

(Saville-Troike 1987). Along the line of previous research, the following questions

are raised:

1) What constitutes the effectiveness of a TV ad in Chinese? What are the dlinguistic and cultural devices exploited to achieve this goal? What are the ^discourse strategies that are used in advertising (command, request,

indirect request)? What is the creativity involved?

2) Does advertising language constitute a specialized use of language, i.e.,

sufficiently different from everyday language and newspaper and

magazine advertising language?

3) Is English used in Chinese TV ads? What are the linguistic strategies in

Chinese that differ from American advertising? What are the strategies

adopted by American companies to enter Chinese market? Has China

come to a soft-sale stage?

2. Data collection

For logistical reasons, the advertisements were recorded on a JVC VCR in Tianjin,

a northern city near Beijing. The advertisements were recorded randomly over a

period of three months from November 2000 to January 200 Ion channels

including China Central TV 1, 2, 3, 4, and different regional TV channels, such as

Jilin, Hunan, Guangdong, Tianjin, Beijing, and so forth. Due to larger audience

figures and relatively high concentration of advertising, the recording usually took

place in the evenings from 6:30pm to 11pm. In total, four hundred eighty-seven

pieces of commercials were taped, transcribed, and analyzed.

3. Linguistic strategies

Linguistic strategies are the most predominate in Chinese TV advertisements.

Chinese TV advertisements seldom employ visual effects or create bizarre

situations like American commercials. In his study of Chinese newspaper

advertisements, Han 1991 found salient topics and commonplace openings of

advertising discourse, a combination of literary and vernacular styles, stock

vocabulary and prescribed patterns, abundance of rhetorical devices, and block

language. This study finds similar results, including the extensive use of rhyming i

couplets and other prescribed patterns, such as idioms and proverbs. However,

different from Han's 1991 research, innovation and creativity are found within the

prescribed patterns of rhyming couplets and idioms and proverbs. Therefore,

Chinese advertising is not merely simple reproductions of stock language and

expressions, vernacular styles, stock vocabulary and prescribed patterns,

abundance of rhetorical devices, and block language.

Zhang: An analysis of TV advertising language across cultures 189

3.1. Rhyming couplets

It was found that 76 out of the 487 advertisements contain rhyming couplets, over

15% of all advertisements examined. The products being advertised range from

food and drinks to houseware and cosmetics. The rhyming couplets appear in any

part of the commercial and most often they appear as the signature lines or the

opening lines. They can also make the entire script for the commercial. The popu-

larity of this strategy has to do with the prestige associated with rhyming patterns

in traditional Chinese, but also the effect of rhyming patterns on retaining mem-ory. The semantic relation between the two rhyming couplets is often that of topic

and comment, and the rhyming is commonly accidental, i.e., the final character of

the second line happens to rhyme with the final character of the first line, which is

usually the product name (such as in (2), (4), (7), and (8)), but there is no semantic

matching between them. They are not the rhyming couplets in the traditional sense

in that each character or word of the first couplet must match the meaning of its

counterpart in the second couplet, and the final character in both couplets must

rhyme. The examples below — except (3), (6), and (9) — only satisfy the second

criterion.

(1) ±^fmm%, M±m^i^^u^-— ^^^

da zhi ran de bao wii. huang tu di de zhen pfn yi

Nature's gift, yellow earth's treasure

'Nature's gift, yellow earth's treasure.

Yanan apples'

(2) I'^SH^g, ^mnx^,

zhi qiang san he yf, quan jFa dou huan xf

Zhiqiang Three Harmony, whole family all happy

'Zhiqiang Three Harmony, the whole family is happy.

Three Harmony'

(3) ¥¥^w^, ^^'mx^^

nian nian qing you yu, sui sui tian huan le

year yeai' celebrate extra, year year add joy

'Every year celebrate extra, every year add joy.

Coca-Cola'

(4) mma.m, jx^^mj\wei wei dou naf, huan le kaf huai

Weiwei soymilk, happy joyous

'Weiwei Soymilk, happy and joyous.

Weiwei Soymilk'

190 Studies in the Linguistic Sciences 31:2 (Fall 2001

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(5) ^m^^^jf, mmfM^.feFchang ke le kar, xing fu zi ran laf

Feichang Cola open, happiness naturally come

'Feichang Cola opens, happiness comes naturally.

Feichang Cola'

(6) ^mîM, ^mi^Kguan jian shf ke, biao xian chu se

crucial moment, excellent performance

'An outstanding performance at a crucial moment.— 999 Cold Medicine'

(7) mm^M, -^]}^M.de guo rui jia, yf qie wei jia

German Ruijia, everything for family

'German Ruijia, everything for family.

Ruijia Furniture"

(8) '^^Mmmm, m-^^îtmshen tai mer xi mian nau huan fa sheng ming guang car

ecological face wash milk, glow life color

'Ecological Face-washing Milk, glowing with life's color.

Ecological'

(9) ^^*, ^m^.

dong ql laf, geng jmg caf

move (start action), more exciting

'Movement, excitement.

JianUbao'

In the last example in (9), as Jianlibao proposes to be a sports drink, its ad

uses only six characters, with the picture of a film star doing all kinds of stunts.

The ad is upbeat and eye-catching. The couplets go well with the company image

with its economy of expression and emphasis on actions. As shown in the above

examples, rhyming is employed for all kinds of products. However, this strategy is

more prominent with ads of Chinese liquors. Most of them are not merely simple

rhymes, but attempted recreations of traditional verses. There are extensive refer-

ences to history related to the manufacturer, or the place of production.

(10) S-f-îBJ!, Hl^^ffii,

wu qian nian wen mfng, san qian nian li shf

five thousand year civilization, three thousand year history

'Five thousand years of civilization, three thousand years of history.

West Phoenix'


(11) m7i^tifi, mmm.xi shui chang Ifu, gan tian huf chang

thin water always run, sweet melodious

Thin water runs long, sweet and melodious.

Langquan'

(12) Hiii^^Ttt, ^mmit^.san xia tian xia zhuang, nief jiu dao hua xiang

The Three Gorges the world beautiful, fragrant liquor Daohuaxiang

The Three Gorges is as beautiful as Daohuaxiang hquor is fragrant.

Daohuaxiang'

(13) xBMm, umm^^.jfu yue jm de jfu, hao yiin ban nf zou

September 9th wine, good luck accompany you go

'(Drink) the wine on September 9th, good luck goes with you.

September 9th'

(14) MXfikUm, :SiiM1xX.gang yan xm xf jm, you yi geng chang jfu

together drink happy wine, friendship more enduring

'Drink together Xinxi (happy) Wine, friendship lasts longer.

Xinxi Wine'

(15) Mht^^,

— ^mmmmshang zhan bian huan,

Ifang jr zhe xian, cheng zhao jia mfng,

gong tong fa zhan

business war change,

good opportunities suddenly appear, sincerely invite join,

develop together

'Business war changes;

good opportunity suddenly appears;

Five Grains Wine sincerely invites you to develop together.

Five Grains Wine'

(16) -g-^^t, '»,?.!•¥„

bar nian lao jfu. qfng xr baf nian

hundred year old wine, feeling tie hundred year

'One Hundred year old wine, feeling lasts a hundred years.

Luzhou Laojiao'


(17) ni^WM, ^^^m^k.— mmmmmhe beFqmg jfu, jiao ge peng you

drink cup qing wine, make a friend

'Drink a cup of Qing wine, make a good friend.

Guizhong Qing Wine'

(18) -mc^i^i^m,

rong hua tian di cang sheng,

lun huf ren jian wan xiang, sui yue zhen chang

melt heaven earth story,

turn human world elements, time treasure

'Melting with story of heaven and earth,

turning with thousands of elements in human world, time's

treasure.

Shanxi Guihuaxiang'

(19) -itiimtm^

— mmmyf dai dai miao fang xiang chuan,

liu bar nian lao zuo fang piao xiang

one generation generation secret recipe hand down,

six hundred old cellar flow fragrance

'With secret recipe handed down from generation to generation,

for six hundred years Old Cellar Wine flows fragrance.

Old Cellar Wine (Five Grains Corp)'

(20) mw^^wM^r,

xiong huai you cao yuan ban kuan guang.

ym wei you mm ge ban you yang,

mfng gu wang jm, laf zi cao yuan de wen hou

chest have prairie broad,

rhyme have pastoral song melodious,

Mongolian King Wine, from prairie de greeting

'As broad as the prairie,

as melodious as the pastoral song,

Mongolian King Wine, greeting from the prairie.

Mongolian King'

3.2. Children's rhyme

The rhyming pattern does not only involve couplets, but also children's rhyme.

The vocabulary is simpler in this kind of rhyming and the form is not as symmet-

ric as rhyming couplets. Usually these rhymes are for children's products, and are


spoken by children in the advertisements.

(21) i?^iij, m^u,

xm nian dao, xm nian hao.

Fij shi guo zi shao b\x liao

new year come, new year good,

Fushi Sun Seeds short never

'New Year coming. New Year good,

should not miss Fushi Sun Seeds.

Fushi Watermelon Seeds'

(22) ^T!^, m^m,nnmm, nam

Ifzrgai, xFshou kual,

suan suan tian tian, wo men ai

Ion Calcium, absorb fast,

sweet sour, we love

'Calcium Ion, easy to absorb,

sweet and sour, we love.

Sanjing Calciuin"

(23) m^^, Mf%p^,

wa ha ha, wa ha ha

tie xing gai nar lafchan jia

Xiao peng you men huan yfng ta

AD gai nai JTa tie xing

bu xue bi;i gai zhcn tie xmzao yi pfng, wan yi pfng

rang wo jian Rang geng chong mfng

Wahaha, Wahaha,

Iron, Zinc, Calcium, come join,

little children welcome it,

AD Calcium milk add iron and zinc,

supplement blood supplement calcium real close,

morning one bottle, evening one bottle,

let me healthy smarter

'Wahaha, Wahaha,

Iron, Zinc, Calcium, come to join

little children welcome it

AD Calcium milk added with iron and zinc

supplement blood and calcium so good

194 Studies in the Linguistic Sciences 3 1 :2 (Fall 2001)

drink one in the morning, one at night

let me be healthy and smarter.

Wahaha Calcium Milk'

3.3. Pseudo-idioms

The following examples are innovations of four character idioms and phrases.

Since most Chinese idioms consist of four characters, these constructions give an

outward appearance of an idiom and its sounding effect, but strictly speaking they

are phrases of piling adjectives. Rhyming can still be found in this kind of pseudo-

idiom, which suggests that rhyming is desired in the Chinese language use in ad-

vertisements. Rhyming can be both internal (within the pseudo-idiom) and exter-

nal (among the pseudo-idioms). Most of the examples below use both rhyming

schemes.

(24) HMmfiJ, ^^^^m, Sir DVD,

hua mian rui li. she cai yan li, xia xm dr wF di,

zhen de hao shen qf, zhuo yue ke ji,

jmg zhi sheng huo

picture sharp, color bright, Amoisonic DVD,really miraculous, advanced technology,

refined life

'sharp picture, beautiful color, Amoisonic DVD,really miraculous, advanced technology,

refined life.

Amoisonic TV

(25) umum, t/LJxiw0,

bao nuan bao jian, dang feng yi jiin,

tou qi bao shF, gao tan si shen,

chf mfng pm paf, xiao sFfeng du

keep warm keep healthy, against wind repress bacteria,

allow air preserve moisture, highly elastic sculpturing,

famous brand, handsome manner

'Warm and healthy, against wind and rid of bacteria,

allows air and preserves moisture, highly elastic and sculpturing,

famous brand, handsome manner.

Shanshan Underwear'

(26) ^^iEtttli, mM^iJi,

Jm ba wang dian chf, neng li qiiing jin,

nai ybng chf jfu

Duracell battery, ability powerful,

enduring lasting


'Duracell battery, high power,

long lasting.

Duracell battery'

(27) mth^n., H^î^,

Motuoluola. qi che dian hua.

shengkong mian tf, jia shi zF xin,

ba wo wu xian

Motorola, car phone,

voice-dialing without hand, control consulting,

sureness unlimited

'Motorola, car phone,

voice-dialing, control communication,

unlimited sureness.

Motorola'

(28) g^jf, T20gÂi^,

ailixin, TF er shf ai si yan,

sheng huo jfe zou, jin zai zhang woEricsson, T20-Love Private Talk,

life rhythm, all in control

'Ericsson, T20-Love Private Talk,

life's rhythm, all in control.

Ericsson'

(29) ^mrt^, -Mum.Tianchan neiyf. yi shen wen nuan

Tianchan underwear, all over the body warmth

'Tianchan underwear, warmth all over the body.

Tianchan underwear'

(30) ^ûm\H^, rt^h^f^,

tfng mei baojian neiyi, neiwai jinxFu,

chong sFsanwei, mei tF xFu xFng,

yi chuan jiu bian

Tingmei Health underwear, in out both improve,

re-sculpture three lines, beautify body modify figure,

once wear instant change

'Tingmei Health underwear, improve both in and out,

re-sculpturing three lines, beautify body figure,

results right away.

Tingmei Healthy Underwear'


3.4. Creative innovations

This kind of innovation dwells more on the semantics rather than rhyming or

shape of the phrase itself. Sometimes, it is a combination of all the different strate-

gies. Some of them sound more like modern Chinese poems such as in (31) and

(32). Rhyming is not as important in these two examples.

(31) WSItt^, ^Pg|xl3t„

you xfng shi jie, wii xian feng guang

Bounded world, boundless scenery

'Bounded world, boundless scenery. I

CCTV

(32) ^mM^^t^, ^rif^iBJi„bian huan mo wei gan quan, blan kuang ye wei pfng tu

Change desert to well, change wilderness to smooth road

'Change desert to well; change wilderness to smooth road.

CCTV

In the following example (33), the advertisers cleverly use well-used idiom or in-

vented a situation that include words that are their brand name (in bold face).

(33) mmz^f^^, m')^z^^%mmz=f-m^,

— ^mitx%mpeng pai zhi yu sheng ming, can Ian zhi yu tian kong,

fu rao zhi yu qfn fen,

wef da zhi yu jmg shen.

kar tuo chuang xm, fa yang Guang da

buoyant for life, brilliant for sky,

abundance for diligence,

greatness for spirit,

China Everbright Bank, explore create, carry forward

to the bright future

'As buoyant as life, as brilliant as the sky,

diligence generates abundance,

spirit generates greatness,

China Everbright Bank, exploring and creating, carrying forward

to the bright future.

Everbright Corp.'

(34) -f-iltt^JcJilli , 7JM M'¥'\—-%^-^mm.mqiiin Ifng bfng feng han, wan If Xue zhong feF

A thousand ice peaks cold, ten thousand miles snow in fly

'A thousand peaks cold with ice, ten thousand miles Flying In the

Snow.

Flying In the Snow Dawn Jacket'


Sometimes this also involves innovations of proverbs. In the following three

examples, the first part of the sentences are the beginning of a proverb or the entire

idiom while the second part is the innovation sometimes contain the brand names(in bold face). They can also be viewed as rhyming couplets. Therefore, they are

creative innovations within different layers of forms and conventions.

(35) -g-gii, m^r-umu,

chang yan dao. chF hao bij ru shiii hao,

shui hao yao yong Shuibao

Old saying goes, eating well not as good as sleeping well,

sleep well, you need to use Shuibao (Sleeping Treasure)

'Old saying goes, eating well is not as good as sleeping well.

To sleep, you need to use Shuibao (Sleeping Treasure).

Shuibao mattress'

(36) ^WîiJIxlS, A^f^jxllil.—mm%tian you biî ce feng yun, ren hui shang feng gan maoheaven have unpredicted cloud, human might catch cold

'Heaven has unpredicted clouds; human might catch a cold.

Kangbide'

(37) xm^m, ^mîk.ren kao yi zhuang, mei kao Liangzhuang

People rely clothes, beauty relies Liangzhang

People rely on good clothes; beauty relies on Liangzhang.

Liangzhang Cosmetics

3.5. Metaphors

Extravagant use of metaphors is adopted in the following two ads, (38) and (39),

from Maybelline. The major metaphor here is to compare its product with water

and crystal, and thus unlimited and undisputed natural beauty. Although the ad

featured American young female models, the signature line definitely appeals to a

widely accepted Chinese belief. This makes them quite different from the signa-

ture line of Maybelline's English TV commercial in the U.S., (40), although the

design of visual effects are similar.

(38) ^Jtîtii^tlSP^'jllj^?

wei she mo ta xiao de na mo can Ian?

shi shufde mei li.

Meibaolian shuf jmg chun gao.

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Xiao yf ge. qfng qmg yi mo,

shuang chun ru shur bo ban jmg yfn liang zi,

rang shuang chun /.hen fa shuT ban guang caf.

mei kii zi nei xm, niei lai zi Meibaolian.

Why she smile so bright?

is water's charisma.

MaybelHne Crystal lipsticlc.

Smile one. gently apply,

both lips water-like crystal shinny.

Let both lips bloom water-like color.

beauty come from inner heart, beauty come from Maybelline.

'Why is her smile so bright?

It is the charisma of water.

Maybelline Crystal Lipstick.

Give me a smile. Apply gently,

Both lips will shine like water.

Let both lips bloom with the bright color of water.

Beauty comes from within; beauty comes from Maybelline.

Maybelline' (Chinese ad)

(39) Bi,^t#x, r-^'^'M,

jmg rong chf jm, biihui Ifu han,

gan jue haf te bfe hao,

rang nFqm mi wii xfa you mei you hua zhuang hou deng hu zhong

gan,

zhen xiang rang yfqie dou neng zhe me mei miao.

mei lai zi nei xFn, mei lai zi Meibaolian.

crystal always, no leave mark,

feel still exceptionally good,

let you close and no makeup after heavy feeling,

really wish everything would be as this miraculous.

beauty come from inner heart, beauty come from Maybelline.

'Always crystal, leaves no mark,

feels so good,

and no cumbersome feeling of makeup after being so close.

How I wish everything in this world would be so miraculous.

Beauty comes from within; beauty comes from Maybelline.

Maybelline" (Chinese ad)

(40) Maybe she's born with it; maybe it's Maybelline.

Maybelline (English ad)


Some Chinese cosmetic advertisements use similar strategy, such as in (41) and

(42).

(41) ii:Xti^^m^^mumti.

nu ren de mei li lai zi zhen zhu de mei li

woman's beauty comes from pearl charisma

"The beauty of a woman comes from the beauty of pearls.

Liangzhuang Pearl Lotion'

(42) tK^ F3i|jf*;l#||,

m mtmYong l^ng F3 zhen zhu rian yang shuang,

nlan bai xFu shi,

mfng riin ru xue

Avon F3 Pearl Nourishing Lotion,

soften whiten beautify,

bright moisture like rosy clouds

'Avon F3 Pearl Nourishing Lotion,

softens, whitens, and beautifies,

as bright and moisturous as rosy clouds.

Avon F3 Nourishing Lotion'

3.6. Appeals to reasoning

This strategy challenges widely beUeved concepts and habitual thinking, or they

bring out new concepts with 'scientific' evidence to alter the consumer's concep-

tion. Normally by stressing one side of facts, it is hoped that the consumers will

forget the other sides of the statement and prompt to buying. Example (43) gives

the impression that one can alter his or her age as much as they want. However, in

reality it is also true that age is more than just a number and there are a number of

physical conditions associated with age and aging that can not be easily altered. In

(44) the presumption is that you are already beautiful, you only need to maintain

it. Example (45) brings out a so-called 'resilience albumen' that is supported by

scientific evidence, which has a supposed effect of perpetuating youthful appear-

ance. Researchers have pointed out the possible misleadingness of advertisements

in general (Zhou 1995; Han 1991). Here we see the misleadingness not as a result

of blunt lying, but of stressing one side of the truth while omitting others. In other

words, the advertisers' tactic is to direct the viewers away from rational and ob-

jective thinking.

(43) ^^n^^i^'^^

nian Ifng zhF shi ge shij zi

age only is a number

'Age is only a number.

Weigcer Beauty package'

200 Studies in the Linguistic Sciences 3 1 :2 (Fall 2001)

(44) HMtil^^^t^.mei li ye xu yao wei hu

beauty also need care

'Beauty needs to be cared for, too.

Trevi Serve'

(45) S^^tt-^^^?!^,m±mmmm

ym wei tan xing yi tian tian zai iFu zou,

pang shi tan xing run fTi shuang,

bu chong tan xing dan bai,

mei you xi wen, you tan xing, jiu shi nian qmgBecause resilience a day day is flowing away.

Pond's resilience lotion, compensate resilience,

no fine wink, more resilience, just young.

'Because resilience goes away day by day.

Pond's compensates resilience,

no fine winks, more resilience, look just young.

Pond's'

3.7. Puns

Puns are not the most common strategies used in Chinese advertisement, as they

are hard to obtain. A good example is use of pun in advertisement Taitai Extract, a

herbal extract made for women. In this ad, a handsome couple are talking inti-

mately in their living room. As Taitai means wife in Chinese, the puns here is that

Taitai can refer to both the brand name of extract and the wife. However, at the

discourse level, the first two exchanges 'what are you looking at' and 'looking at

your face color' can also be puns. 'Face color' can both mean complexion and the

anger on the face. Usually when the husband is looking at other women, the wife

will scold, 'what (who) are you looking at?' If the husband is afraid of his wife, he

would be 'looking at her face color', which means he has to watch himself not to

offend her. The final line from the woman can also be interpreted as 'no other

woman is better than your wife'.

(46) ^: WJt^njg?kan she me ne?

look what ni (question marker)

'Female: What are you looking at?'

kan ni de lian se.

look your complexion

'Male: Looking at your complexion'


hai shi taitai hao ba.

still is Taitai (wife) better ba(question marker)

'Female: Still, Taitai (wife) is better, right?'

Taitai kou fu ye.

tiao zheng shui mian, gai shan jF fUi,

you guang ze. shf zu niî ren wei

Taitai extract,

adjust sleep, improve skin,

have luster, adundant feminine.

'Voice: Taitai Extract.

adjust sleep, improve skin,

add luster, more feminine.

Taitai extract"

In the next example (47). the ad about Shanshan Clothes, several young womenare talking among themselves, with a man in nicely cut suits standing in the back-

ground. This line can either mean these young women never stop talking about

men, or Shanshan suits can tell you a lot of stories about the man wearing them—to the very least, he has good taste. Since there is not an agent in this sentence, the

sentence is ambiguous and thus interesting.

Jiang bii wan de nan ren gij shi

talk never end de male story

The story about men never ends.

Shanshan Suits'

3.8. Direct and indirect request

In Chinese most of TV advertisements of medicine are direct requests, with the

stock expression, 'please use', or 'please be sure to use'. For example,

(48) ^xmn, mî, rnxmîk^.—nmmmmkang bing du, zhi gan mao, qfng ren shrkuaike

Kuaike. fight bacteria, cure cold, please make sure Kuaike

'Kuaike, fight bacteria, cure cold, please make sure (to use) Kuaike.

Kuaike"

(49) s,i^MM.^^m,

— nmmrnfan fan fu fu ke chuan bing.

qmg yong guilong kechuannmg


Cough again and again,

please use Guilong Kechuanning.

'Cougii again and again,

please use Guilong Kechuanning.

Guilong'

There are only a few exceptions. For instance, actress Li Yuanyuan did an

advertisement for Fuxin Extract. She uses of the honorific second pronoun nin to

show polite familiarity between the speaker and audience, which is also effective.

(50) ^mW^h^aMB,

— ^mt^rwo tuFjian bii xin kou fu ye,

wo de tong shi dou gel hai z\ he zhe ge,

xing bu xing,

nfn bu fang shi shi?

I recommend Buxin Extract,

my colleagues all give children drink this.

Believe not believe,

you (respect form) might like to try?

'I recommend Buxin Extract.

My colleagues all give this to their children to drink.

Believe it or not,

maybe you (respect form) would like to give it a try?

Harbin No. 6 Medicine Factory'

3.9. Cultural elements

This strategy creates occasions to utilize referrals to special customs particular to

the Chinese culture that is widely practiced. The following (51) is a good example.

According to the custom, an apprentice or subordinate should pay a visit to their

teachers during Chinese New Year with precious gifts to show their appreciation.

This episode features Jiang Kun, a famous cross-talk artist, and Da Shan, his fa-

mous Canadian student. Da Shan is dressed in a Chinese costume to suggest that

he has 'adopted' the Chinese customs. By having Jiang Kun say that he will not

accept any gift except Naobaijin, the ad emphasizes the special value of Naobao-

jin. Jiang Kun's line is also a rhyming couplet.

(51) ;^Lij -.mn, if^;^llj-^shrfu, qmg shou da shan yf bai

master, please accept Danshan one bow'Da Shan: Master, please accept my respect.'

jm nian guo jfe bii shou \i,

shou ir zhf shou naobaiiFn


this year festival not accept gift,

accept gift only accept Naobaijin

'Jiang Kun: This New Year I won't accept gifts

unless it is Naobaijin.

Naobaijin'

3.10. Emphasis

'I just like it' becomes a common phrase used in advertisements for products

geared towards children and teenagers. This breeds a new generation of 'I want',

"me first' in the individual-centered consumer economy. Both of the following ads

feature popular teenager icons. The emphasis adverb tX (in bold face) sounds

defensive in asserting one's preference.

(52) m MM u%x.—mmmwo jiu shi xfhuan

I just like

'I just like it.

Laxin Jello'

(53) nRWM^ m n.MH^

w6 zhf yao gao xing jiu hao

I only happy then good

'As long as I am happy!

Xurisheng Ice Tea'

4. Comparison between Chinese and U.S. advertisement strategies

There are several clear distinctions between Chinese and American advertise-

ments, revealing the crucial differences between the two cultural ideologies and

practice. First, the Chinese advertisements seldom directly attack a competitor's

product or compare with another brand name on certain aspects, which is fre-

quently used in American advertisements especially for products such as cold

medicines, pain relievers, and cleaning liquids for kitchen.

In the 487 advertisements collected for this study, there is not a single in-

stance of directly attacking a competitor's product by comparing price, effective-

ness, or side effects. However, indirect attacks on the competitor's products are

found. For example, the flu medicine Kangtaike produced by the Sino Joint-

venture of SmithKline was recently banned in China it contains PPA (phenylpro-

panolamine), an ingredient that can cause hemorrhagic stroke. Afterwards, there

appeared a wave of advertisements of cold and flu medicines that claimed they do

not contain PPA.

(54) BM, ^^ PPA,

gan kang, bi^i han PPA.

gan mao mei le, xmg geng jin le


Gankang, not contain PPA,

cold gone, heart become more close le

'Gankang, does not contain PPA.

The cold is gone; the heart becomes closer.

Gankang'

(55) nî^'T (ÎtK- )'^±m±^t PPAo

shen qfnuo nfng, (gan mao nfng pian) an quan you xiao.

bii han PPAI

Shenqi Nuoning, safe and effective,

not contain PPA'Shenqi Nuoning, safe and effective,

does not contain PPA.

Shenqi Nuoning'

(56) ^tm, ^t PPA,

bai jia hei, bu han PPA,

zhi liao gan mao. hei bai fen mfng

White & Black, not contain PPA,

cure cold, white and black

'White & Black doesn't contain PPA,

cures cold, white and black.

White & Black'

(57) mnmm^^, r-t ppa,

Han bang fî di le. bu han PPA,

mei you dan xm. zhf you fang xmUnion Fedile, not contain PPA,

no worry, only have relief

'Union Fedile doesn't contain PPA,

no worries, only relief.

Union Fedile'

(58) nmfik, r-t ppa„

lei meng xm, bu han PPALeimengxin, does not contain PPA'Leimengxin does not contain PPA.

Leimengxin"

In all the above instances, none of them mentions directly the company name

or the product name of SmithKline. These advertisements make it appear that the

target of these Chinese pharmaceutical manufacturers was PPA rather than

SmithKline. The message is clear: our products are superior since they do not use

PPA. The reason for avoiding direct attacks and overt competition may be two-

fold. First, for a lot of products, the market has not developed into the monopoly

of a few major brands like in the U.S., which makes direct attacking or compari-


son possible or even necessary. In facing big multinational companies who enjoy a

large market share in China, the Chinese companies might be too weak to make

face-on attack. The second reason might be rooted in the cultural belief that direct

confrontation should be avoided at all expenses. It is considered rude to belittle

others and it does not necessarily make oneself look good, while the American ad-

vertisers and consumers seem to believe more accurate information and more in-

formed choice come out of comparisons and contrasts.

Similarly, Wahaha, a large food and children's product manufacturer, has

produced a children's coke and proclaims it does not contain caffeine, indicating

their competitors do. Even so, the ad looks nothing as aggressive and direct as

Pepsi's campaign against Coca-Cola on American TV. Frequently, native brand

soft drinks appeal to patriotism with phrases like 'China's own coke' against for-

eign-brand soft drinks, which are perhaps their largest competitors.

(59) jLM^i^^,

er tong ke le,

wahaha, bia han ka fei ym de ke le,

wo men zi jfde ke le

Children's coke,

Wahaha, not contain caffeine coke,

we ourselves' own coke

'Children's coke,

Wahaha, does not contain caffeine,

our own coke.

Wahaha"

A third example is a more subtle indirect attack on competitors with its usage

of puns. Superficially, (60) reads like from South Pole to North Pole, i.e., all over

the world, still Jindao inner-wear is the best. However, North Pole itself is the

brand name of a competitor of similar kinds of product (61 ), for which the famous

comedian Zhao Benshan (^^llj ) has made a commercial, in which he is

captivated by aliens and kept frozen.

(60) mmum, i5.^i2iti*];t<„

nan jf dao bei jf, hai shi jin dao nei yf

from South Pole to North Pole, still Jindao Winter-wear is

"From South Pole to North Pole, still Jindao Winter-wear is (the best).

Jindao'

(62) '\mmmmm.

pa leng jiu chuan bei jf rong

fear cold then wear North Pole

'If you are afraid of coldness, wear North Pole.

North Pole Warm Winter-wear'

In American advertisement of today, we frequently see the warnings of side

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)

effects of certain medicines. Often the listing of side effects takes longer time than

the description of benefits and the diseases they cure. While in the U.S., compa-

nies are bound by law to cite side effects, there is no such law in China. In the 78

Chinese medicine advertisements in this study, there is not a single instance that

mentions a word of any possible side effect of the medicine being advertised.

Secondly, despite the American influence on the Chinese advertisements,

most advertisements for general public consumption still avoid extremely self-

indulgent slogans, which frequent American TV advertisements, such as:

Treat yourself with...

You deserve...

I am worth...

Imagine yourself with/in...

This shows that the traditional values still have their place in public discourse

and people avoid being overtly self-absorbed. Thus it high-lights the competition

in a changing society between traditional values and consumer values. Lastly, very

few Chinese advertisements create and exploit a comical or bizarre situation like

in American ads.

5. American Influence on Chinese advertising and use of English

Researchers have noted the influence of English, especially American vernacular

English on TV commercials used in France (Martin 1998). However, the use of

English is still rare in Chinese TV advertisement. Only 4 out of the 487 advertise-

ments have English elements in them, usually as background music, or subtitles on

the screen accompanying the Chinese headline. For example, (63) is a piece of ad-

vertisement from Everbright, one of the leading banks in China. The English sub-

titles in this case show noticeable Chinese language influence in terms of syntax

and dictation. In the other three examples, catchy phrases in colloquial English are

used. However, these English subtitles and background lyrics are barely noticeable

and play a secondary role in constructing of the message being delivered.

(63) As buoyant as life, as brilliant as the sky,

diligence generates abundance, spirit generates greatness,

China Everbright Bank, exploring and creating,

carrying forward to the bright future.

Everbright Bank

(64) Don't let it go. (background music)

Kodak

(65) Come on baby. Oh.

Wangzi CQ candy

(66) This is my life, (background music)

Sportlife Non-sugar Chewing Gum

Despite the limited use of English, more and more Chinese products have foreign-

sounding brand names. Numerous examples can be drawn from different products.


including medicine and clothing, but not limited to these domains. This seems to

be a contradiction to the reality of English usage, i.e., why Chinese products take

on foreign sounding names that do not have even the remotest Chinese meanings.

This calls for an extended research on the subject itself that may include inter-

views with product name and brand name designers as well as managers and other

decision makers. At this stage, this phenomenon can be viewed as an indirect in-

lluence of Western influence on Chinese economy and ideology.

As the use of English is rare in Chinese advertisements, it is hard to pinpoint

I

the American influence on Chinese advertising and to generalize into broader con-

ceptualizations. However, in the example below (67), the American influence (68)

is so obvious that it almost verges on copyright infringement.

(67) ^^jt^W•MZ.i§?

jfn tian nF you fou yi tang?

qf shf zhong dian jiu shi qf dian,

rang yan guang geng kai kuo

today you have or not etang?

actually finishing point is the beginning point,

let vision more broaden

'Did you etang today?

Actually the finishing point is also the beginning point,

broaden your horizon.

www.etang.com'

(68) Do you yahoo?

www.yahoo.com

6. Nativization of American brand names and products

Nativizalion of foreign products and brand names is an ongoing process, in which

the foreign companies pose themselves as a local enterprise through linguistic and

extralinguistic devices. These advertisements reaffirm their establishment in the

People's Republic of China, and their commitment as the permanent members of

the local community. The benefit of such a strategy cannot and should not be

measured in increase in sale volumes in the immediate future since they are in-

strumental to produce a loyal customer base in the long-term future.

For example, one TV ad of Coca-Cola in China in the 1980s pictured a

bunch of cheerleaders dashing off the bus and the young man selling Coca-Cola

p outside a football stadium is beamed. Another ad from the same era presented

young people singing in a church, each holding a coke. They were both direct re-

use of American advertisements, which may look quite impressive and significant

for American TV audience, but they made very little impression on the Chinese

audience of at that time because they had little cultural relevance. Gradually,

Coca-Cola adds more Chinese elements in the advertising, and this change first

appears in language. In the following advertisement, Coca-Cola presented soccer

208 Studies in the Linguistic Sciences 31:2 (Fall 200 1

)

players in actions and background song in both English and Chinese (69).

(69) -^Bi, -B^, olnoJT itis.

yi qf he, yi qf le, ke kou ke le it is

together drink, together laugh, Coca-Cola it is

'Drink together, laugh together, Coca-Cola it is.

Coca-Cola'

In more recent years, Coca-Cola had an ad of an army of Chinese male dancers in

traditional clothes in front of a traditional Chinese architecture that looks like For-

bidden City, drumming away the Coca-Cola theme song. In the year of 2000, the '

new Coca-Cola ad features a miniature traditional Chinese yard covered with

snow, decorated with red lanterns, red couplets. Two porcelain-doll-like puppets

are presented as two little children in traditional clothes, climbing the ladder to put

up the New Year's couplets on the front door. They fail and their parents come out

with a glass of Coca-Cola. The children drink it, give out satisfying 'ah' sound,

and are successful with their endeavor on the second trial. The glass has the logo

'Enjoy Coca-Cola'. The background music echoes the theme tune of Coca-Cola.

There are not many words in this ad except children's laughter. And the final line

is:

(70) ^^^^^,

(WOMEN'S, KIDS' VOICES)

nian nian qing you yii,

sui sui tian huan le. ke kou ke le

year year celebrate extra,

age age add joy. Coca-Cola!

'Every year celebrates extra;

every year adds joy. Coca-Cola!

Coca-Cola'

The use of women's and children's voices is significant from many aspects.

First, in the previous ads, Coca-Cola often used male voice, with association of

sports and men, martial, and the yang. Now by adopting women's and children's

voices, it embraces more of the feminine, family, and the yin. The association of

Coca-Cola with children and Chinese New Year is indeed a clear idea, finely

woven into the commercial itself. The couplets are effective in enhancing Chinese

cultural atmosphere and it rhymes with the final sound of Coca-Cola in Chinese.

Although different companies have distinct strategies, there is commonality

among them. The American advertisers are conscious to bland and erase national

boundaries and to pose as an international family. Thus U.S. brands and products

are not to be seen as outsiders or intruders, but as prominent members of the Chi-

nese community and a constructive element in the Chinese life. For example, the

Crest commercial features people of different colors smiling into the camera.


(71) itfi?g±fim^M,

zai jFa jfe shF de shi Jie IT.

can Ian de xiao rong.

ya chr jian Rang, xiao rong zhen lang

In the world of Crest,

bright smiles,

health teeth, smiles bloom

'In the world of Crest,

bright smiles are everywhere.

Healthy teeth, smiles bloom.

Crest'

Children are a primary source of focus and a major target for American

commercials. These advertisements are geared towards bringing up a new genera-

tion of Chinese young people who know only to drink Coca-Cola and eat out at

McDonald. The Kodak commercial features children reviewing their pictures with

grandparents. McDonald's strategy does not lie in its advertisement but also in its

products. A red-bean pie is unheard of in the United States. However, red bean is a

popular type of filling in China. McDonald's strategy has always focuses on intro-

ducing its varieties of products to fit Chinese consumers. McDonald's also is eager

to establish a world of itself, without national boundaries. The opening of scene of

the commercial opens a red door in the middle, the door to "The World of McDon-ald's' (^^^^itli ). Inside this world, children are playing happily in

a tug-of-war. Use of cliche '^^^3^ is also a strategy to be nativized.

The ending of the commercial again features children in a McDonald's restaurant,

bowing 'Happy Chinese New Year'.

(72) ^ia#, n&'^^,

hong dbu pai. hong yim dang tou.

xmg nian xmg deng chang. zhfshou san yuan qian,

geng duo xuan ze. geng duo huan xiao.

Red-bean pie, good luck on your head.

New Year new on stage, only accept three dollars,

more choices, more laughter

'Red-bean pie, good luck ahead.

New Year new appearance, only three dollars.

More choices, more laughter.

McDonald's"

Finally, American companies are aware of the Chinese cultural metaphors

and the importance of utilizing them. As shown before in examples of Maybelline,

the signature line 'beauty comes from within' is more a Chinese or Eastern con-

cept than American. And the appeals to water and other natural objects to sym-

bolize beauty make it more on the par with Chinese advertisements of similar


products rather than American ones.

7. Conclusion

Chinese advertising at present relies heavily on language strategies, such as

rhyming couplets, coinage of idioms and proverbs, and other creative efforts,

which makes it distinctively different from American advertisements. Reference to

history and culture elements is also a common strategy used in Chinese advertise-

ments, especially for Chinese medicine and wine. Few Chinese advertisements

create or exploit bizarre situations like in American TV ads or use extremely self-

centered phrases for the general public. These features of advertising language re-

flect and reinforce the changes in society, where the individualistic consumer ide-

ologies are competing with the more collective traditional ideology in the public

discourse.

It is found that advertising language is highly culture-oriented, which mani-

fests the underlying socioeconomic ideology. The popularity of certain strategies

in a given culture may be a good indicator of the relative effectiveness amongthem; however, consumer questionnaires may be useful to further attest these as-

sumptions. In addition, the cross-cultural influence of advertising is a bidirectional

process. On one hand, the American influences on Chinese advertising in forming

a more individualistic consumer ideology cannot be underestimated. On the other

hand, American companies also exploit traditional images and values to root

themselves in the Chinese market. The present research contributes to under-

standing of the Chinese language in advertising and advertising theory in general,

and can serve as background material for cultural studies, business language edu-

cation, mass communication, and international marketing.

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AN ANALYSIS OF TV LANGUAGE ACROSS TV

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